Malaysian/Singaporean: Taste Good

I recently made a little “field trip” out to Elmhurst, Queens, in the name of soup. But this wasn’t just *any* soup – it was one of my favorite Singaporean dishes, laska. The venue in question? A hole-in-the-wall joint called Taste Good (I’m not making this up). I wrote about my experience with the real deal in Singapore (and that wasn’t even my FAVE laksa place in Singapore!), so I was quite eager to see how this version compared. Taste Good’s laksa is listed in New York Magazine’s selection of the City’s 50 Best Soups – so it has to be good, right? I was about to find out…

But first, we started with one of my old faves – roti canai. This flaky, chewy pancake with chicken curry dipping sauce is always a welcome hit, and Taste Good’s version didn’t disappoint:

Four our mains, in addition to the bowls of laksa, we ordered the Hainanese Chicken with Rice. Prepared with a method that distills the very essence of chicken flavor into tender, perfectly seasoned meat, this dish is accompanied by aromatic rice that is prepared with the chicken fat and stock. Delicious.

Taste Good also ordered a hard-to-find dish that we simply had to order – sambal stingray. Sambal, a sweet sour chili sauce, covers barbecued stingray meat. The stingray itself is surprisingly tender, not gamey at all, and hearty.

As a vegetable, we ordered my favorite (when it comes to veggies; it’s all relative, right?) – the kangkung belacan:

This is another dish that I’ve mentioned in previous posts – Chinese water spinach with spicy shrimp paste. It’s got a just a tad of heat and briny, shrimpy flavor. Mmm.

We also ordered the beef rendang, which I’m generally not a fan of (there’s an unknown ingredient in the dish that is appetizing to others but not to me). However, this version was flavorful, not overwhelming and tender:

And what did I think of that bowl of laksa? Well, see for yourself:

I cleaned that bowl UP. With tofu, shrimp, chicken, fishcake, egg, onions and more in a rich, spicy coconut curry broth, Taste Good’s laksa was as close to the real deal as I’ve had in NYC thus far. Do yourself a favor and spice it up even further with the chili paste provided at the table – you won’t regret it. You are in for the soup experience you’ll remember for a while.

Unless you live in Elmhurst, Taste Good is a bit of a trek – however, the authenticity and great prices make the trip worth it. If you like Singaporean and Malaysian cuisine, you’ll get a kick out of Taste Good!

YUM! I love haianese chicken, so soft and tender. Just love to drown the piece of chicken in their soy sauce, ginger and scallion sauce, and the chili sauce. I really need to try that veggie dish, the shrimp paste sounds really appealing.

I grew up in Elmhurst, but this was quite a while ago. My grandmother’s store was on Broadway across the street from the park, but I don’t remember the restaurant, and I think there was a bowling alley on that street. Times have changed. Thanks for sharing a good food find.

Kristin

July 7, 2011 at 11:00 pm

DROOL! I had no idea Singaporean food had such diverse flavors… I always thought of it as chilli crab or Chinese influenced….. everything looks soooooo good! I wanna try a Singaporean restaurant based on these recommendations but I don’t know where to start in S.F. besides Thanh Long down the street from my house (and they are famous for their chilli crab!). I hope you come to S.F. and show me one day!

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Serena is the founder of Big Apple Nosh, a NYC-based food and travel blog that highlights the best of New York City and travel destinations across the globe. Follow her as she eats her way around the world!